Data collected from Douglas-fir stands infected by the Douglas-fir beetle in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah, were used to develop models to estimate amount of mortality in terms of basal area killed. Models were built using stepwise linear regression and regression tree approaches. Linear regression models using initial Douglas-fir basal area were built for all...

One of the primary assumptions associated with many wildlife and population trend studies is that target species are correctly identified. This assumption may not always be valid, particularly for species similar in appearance to co-occurring species. We examined size overlap and identification error rates among Cooper's (Accipiter cooperii

A critical component of a growth and yield simulator is an estimate of mortality rates. The mortality models presented here are developed from long-term permanent plots in provinces from throughout the geographic range of ponderosa pine in the United States extending from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Pacific Coast. The study had two objectives: estimation of...

Recently, wildfires and prescribed burning have become more frequent in conifer forests of western North America. Most studies examining the impacts of insects on trees with post-fire injury have focused on contributions to tree mortality. Few studies have examined fire-caused injuries to estimate the probability of attack by insects. Scant data quantifying...

In a pollen exclusion experiment performed on the cones of five Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirbel] Franco) trees, the number of seeds infested by a seed chalcid, Megastigmus spermotrophus Wachtl, did not differ significantly between pollinated and unpollinated cones from the same tree. This finding led to a revision of the...

Classification trees and linear regression analysis were used to build models to predict probabilities of infestation and amount of tree mortality in terms of basal area resulting from roundheaded pine beetle, Dendroctonus adjunctus Blandford, activity in ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Laws., in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico. Classification trees were built for...

Current trends in the nation?s forest-sector research capacity were analyzed in terms of funding and number of scientists, and compared with prior data in the National Research Council?s 2002 report, National Capacity in Forestry Research. The total number of professors at institutions accredited by the Society of American Foresters, research scientists at the USDA...

In a greenhouse trial to examine genetic resistance among seedling families (half-sib, full-sib, and selfed) of Port-Orford-cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murr.) Parl.) to the root pathogen Phytophthora lateralis, the root tips of seedlings were inoculated, and the subsequent mortality was followed over a 3 year period....

Monitoring is required of land managers and conservation practitioners to assess the success of management actions. "Shortcuts" are sought to reduce monitoring costs, most often consisting of the selection of a small number of species that are closely monitored to represent the status of many associated species and environmental correlates. Assumptions...

Bark beetle outbreaks have killed large numbers of trees across North America in recent years. Lidar remote sensing can be used to effectively estimate forest biomass, but prediction of both live and dead standing biomass in beetle-affected forests using lidar alone has not been demonstrated. We developed Random Forest (RF) models predicting total, live, dead, and...

As the wildland-urban interface in the Southern Appalachian Mountains has grown and become more complex, land managers, property owners, and ecologists have found it increasingly necessary to understand factors that drive fuel loading. Few predictive fuel loading models have been created for this important region. Three approaches to estimating fuel loads are compared...

(Please note, this is an abstract only) We examined attributes associated with the probability of infestation by pinon ips (Ips confusus), in pinon pine (Pinus edulis), in an outbreak in the Coconino National Forest, Arizona. We used data collected from 87 plots, 59 infested and 28 uninfested, and a logistic regression approach to estimate the probability of...

The concepts and a procedure for evaluating plant community change using the squared Euclidean distance (SED) resemblance function are described. Analyses are based on the concept that Euclidean distances constitute a sample from a population of distances between sampling units (SUs) for a specific number of times and SUs. With different times, the distances will be...

We examined attributes of pinon pine (Pinus edulis) associated with the probability of infestation by pinon ips (Ips confusus) in an outbreak in the Coconino National Forest, Arizona. We used data collected from 87 plots, 59 infested and 28 uninfested, and a logistic regression approach to estimate the probability ofinfestation based on plotand tree-level attributes....

Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are mortality agents to multiple tree species throughout North America. Understanding spatiotemporal dynamics of these insects can assist management, prediction of outbreaks, and development of "real time" assessments of forest susceptibility incorporating insect population data. Here, dispersal of Douglas-...

1) Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) can cause extensive tree mortality in forests dominated by their hosts. Among these, the spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) is one of the most important beetles in western North America causing Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) tree mortality. 2) Although pheromone traps with attractants are commonly used...